Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-08-03
ARTISTIC RAG CARPETS.
Some Ancient History That wilt Prove In
tersStin to No Iern Housewives.

Some Ancien. History That wilt Prove In
tersstin to No Iern Housewives.
Eyes, IT'S fact that the passion fo- old
tina things has brought rag-carpsts into
fashion once more" sail tho blue-syed
and blonde-nustachedm mana ger OF WELL
k,ow1 "ca~pet dep ar meat" to a Chicago
Aetcs reporter, ''but the revived ra g carpet
is, believe, quite an artistic aft .ir, and
hasn't much in common with its prcde-
cessor of thu everlasting stripe. saw
one tho other day with a solid center
piece OF m l-oon, and the effect was real-
ly very good. Tho warp is colorel the
same as the rags, and some ladies. am
told, color thsm both ut homo, and so get
their floors covered eccao nicSilly. For
borders, In order TO utilize both light and
dark rags, shaded red and orange are
woven in tho ld-fashioned stripe. QIite
an idea, amt itl An I afraid it will in
Jure our trade. Oh, no, ind red. Rag car
pets, even artistic ones, will never ba
generally used again. It's just passing
fancy, though confess Pm surprised to
see how many people are taking it up.
ayes, 'rpots have a history, of ceursc,'
like lots OF other things which we are in
the habit OF taking for granted, without
much inquiry into their origins. NATURAL
ly / am interested in the subject myself,
and in nv yearly trips to tho East +
have picked up cool deal
of information about il. 1t seems that
carpets and ti,p,s trics-it is not sy
TO distngu sh between them-werc origin
ally useI for religious ceremonies and
ralatal decorations. Tho p. tests of
Hcliopohs, tho CITY of tho Sun,' used
them for their eligious ceremonies, and
in the palaces of tho Paaraohs they were
employed as decorations. The Hebr ,ws
learned tho art of weaving while they
were in Egypt, ami also adopted tho
Egyptian plan OF beati q gold into thin
plates that could be CIT into threads,
which were intcrwov,a with blu,, purple
and scarlet. To the Oriental mind n car
pet is not merely a iloo covering: it IL q
picture, work of art; its designs are sym.
bolcal, and each co!oring has its hidden
meaning At a formal reception in tha
East three carpets called 'kivapi,' or b or
der-caTpets, are used, one being laid
across the top of the room or tent. AMI ono
extending from each end along the length,
after the shaps OF the Gre ,l1 letter H..
The host sits on the Cross carpet, tho
guests right and left, the central space
being occupied By the servants musicians,
dancers or perform ors. Tho Pcrsians
dine on such carpets spread upon u raisel
couch or divan extending ound the room,
rugs arc used for sitting or reclning for
kneeling and prostration at devotion, az
well as for sleeping.
"They wcro introduced into Spain by
the Moors, into Italy by the Vcnetians.
and returning crusaders scltt ,rcd is).
lated specimens over other parts OF
Europe. Whom first known in Germany,
France and England they wero used as
tablc-covers and for covering
couchcs. chairs and othcr articles
Of furniture, and this is another old fash
ion which has recently been revivcl.
You know in the East there are no manu-
fnctories OF carpets. They are made by
individual workers, or sometimes rug
or carpet is the joint work of a whole
family The peasant weaver succeeds
the unbroS n liRe Of his weaver auce3 tors
and almost by instinct produces tho tradi-
tional patterns which arc now so much
priced. This system tends 10 locaiZo tho
manufacture, and, with Indian c'rpets,
the caste system helps to pcrpetuate the
craft, and the workers attain to grcaS
degrcc of proficiency. SO skillful do they
become that an Indian worker can pro-
duce in given time almost, IL not quito,
as much as a European or American
workman, assisted by machi merry. Then
the Indian is content with wage of =
about one dollar per wcoN, so that, for in
stance, a carpet which, made e gl and.
would cost five dollars the square yard, can
be produced in India for half that price.
The expense lies in the difficu lty of get
ting the goods when made down to the
ports, but even this has been largely re-
duced by the development of railways
and canals, and the charges arc now at
least onc-fourth loss than they were
twenty years ago.
IN P0raia opJ Turlroxy 10 naoo fe xa,ot
the same. Turkey carpets arc manufact-
urcd prin cipaliy in the Province OF Adm.
about six days journey from Smyrna; i'm
the Provinces Of Adana and Nish, and tho
villages Of TrcbiZond. There are, rs
said, no manufacturers, and a carpet
when finished by family, is usually soil
to the keeper of a bazlr or store. through
whose hands IL nnds its way into
those OF the European or American
purchaser. All our carpets, however,
are bought from the local we1vers
themselves. The ioom on which a Turkey
carpet is made is Of the most simple KIM.
1t consists Of tw) upright ard two croSs
beams, so arranged that any numb,r OF
colors can bo Introduce 1, an tho design
and quality variod in tho course OF wcav-
ing. The design Is always woven from
memory, it's d tails being handed down
from generation TO generation. Tn, pat
terms are pec1iar AMI do not resemble
any object in nitu-e more nearly than
rude outlines of loav -. They are sup
posed by somc authorities 10 DO limitations
OF inlaid j:wclel wore. Turkey carpets
are wonderfully durable, and arc much
the best kind for dining-rooms, whiie for
drawing-rooms Persian rugs are moro
suitable Persian weavcrs are all more
or less nomalic, and their carpets grow
for the most part under tent roofs.
The Persian loOm Is horiz ntal and
even more primitive than the TurSish
one. II is simply frame on which ia
stretched the warp, and when in work IL
pcggcd into the bare earth. Tho results,
however, arc delightful Nothing can bo'
more charming than a real Persian car
pet Each one il woven into single
piece, and TO give some slight idea OF tho
great labor required the number OF
stitches in yard width amounts 10 from
450 TO SO, and the pile or thickness Of tho
wool from which the carpets are woven IL
sometimes several inches, 50 that as each
OF the stitches is made separately square
yard will contain from one hundred and
eighty thousand TO three hundred thou
sand, and a carret measuring four yards
by fvs yards therefore represents from
three million five hundred thousand TO
TO six million stitches"
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